"And how'd you like the dryad? Both as a person, and a character."
Val shrugged her shoulders indecisively, seemingly not particularly wanting to discuss the topic, but still decided to answer in more detail under my gaze:
"The dryad dancer has unique high bonuses to reaction of NPC characters she meets and a whole spectrum of useful buffs that she can give to a group by dancing for them. Today, I thought up some progress plans for such a character, and I was very impressed. Potentially one of the best buffers in the game, and in some areas simply the very best. Nearly an ideal 'bonus-giver' for PvP groups: restores health, speeds up any action, refills endurance, increases damage done and critical hit chance... You could even just put a tambourine in her hands and have her beat time for the oarsmen. The White Shark would go thirty-six percent faster, and the orcs could work for sixty-two percent longer."
"Is that right?" I couldn't hold back the surprised exclamation. "So, she'd be very useful to our group!"
"Exactly. And she also has a racial ability to evade detection in forests or swamps. She’d be an invisible buffer that could give sweet bonuses to our group, all while remaining beyond detection. I'll admit, I was tearing out my hair and telling myself off for not having discovered such an 'imba' earlier — if I had, I would have played that combination of race and profession myself. But Veronica doesn't want any of that. She basically isn't thinking of leveling her character as a group buffer, instead making an emphasis on individual play with her high Charisma and racial bonus to attracting members of the opposite sex. And at that, the girl's personality is, being direct, pretty rough. She wants to be the leader all the time, the center of attention. She thinks the world revolves around her. Like that, she's of no use, only harm. Timothy, I really don't see a place in our squad for a character like that."
I completely trusted my sister's opinion, so I not only didn't argue, but adopted it as my own point of view. But how should I tell Leon that I didn't want the self-involved nude dryad in our group?
The Island of the Wanton Widow
MY GOBLIN opened the door of the captain's cabin, went up to the upper deck and stopped, growing accustomed to the darkness and cold rain. My sister hadn't been remotely exaggerating when she'd said "the weather is getting worse." The weather now was nothing short of horrible — the sharp cold wind was driving loose leaden-black clouds across the night sky. Waves were rocking the anchored bireme and lapping against the seaside cliffs in the distance. Even with night vision turned on, I could barely make out the features of the island. The first mate came up to me.
"Captain Amra, the wind is growing stronger. By morning, there will be a very strong storm. We need to bring the White Shark into safe harbor or go out into open ocean. The anchor is barely holding. If the chain gives out, we'll crash against the cliffs."
"in order to get into the bay of the Island of the Wanton Widow, we need to know the local channels, which are quite complicated. Do you know them?"
Ziabash Hardy grew embarrassed, lowered his head and answered that he, of course, did not.
"Then order two dinghies lowered into the water and choose the fourteen most agile and experienced sailors. You stay here on White Shark and take over in my absence. Me and the crew of daredevils will try and find someone who can lead our bireme into port."
Perhaps, for such a dangerous and substantial operation, I should have taken more soldiers. But my level-14 Foreman skill limited me to that precise number, and I wasn't going to risk bringing more pirates than that. A few minutes later, I walked around the lined-up rows of the ghastliest-looking cutthroats around. Wild orcs, a couple goblins, a troll... They were all standing in silence and listening carefully to their captain.
"This is the first time I'm going on a serious mission with you, so I'll be watching each of you to get a sense of what you can do. If you really are the best as Ziabash Hardy says then, after tonight, you'll become something of a captain's personal guard. You'll get armor and weapons better than the rest of the crew, and your share of the loot will also be higher. But that is only if you are deserving of the honor. We should hide and get near the trade galley in the harbor, climb aboard, quietly take out the lookouts and tie up the crew. Any sound could raise the alarm, and we'll be met with steel. What's more, the local guard team might come off the island to the aid of our enemy. I mean, we'll win no matter what in that case, but there will be more blood. So, I will personally feed to the sharks whichever clumsy simpleton causes the alarm to be raised. If any of you are afraid to boat at night in the stormy sea, or unsure of your Strength or Agility, better to say so now, and I can just swap you out for a more capable sailor."
Mission received: Silent assault
Mission class: Normal, group
Description: Capture the merchant vessel and free your companions
Reward: 3200 Exp., +5 to relationship with members of Brotherhood of the Coast
Optional condition: None of the soldiers or overseers raise the alarm
Reward: +5 to relationship with members of Brotherhood of the Coast, +1 to Stealth skill
My crew stood in silence as I read the mission conditions. None of them refused. The orcs were baring their tusks fiercely, demonstrating a readiness for combat. The troll was clenching and unclenching his huge fists, easily capable of crushing the skull of a person.
Foreman Skill increased to level 15!
"Great! But from now on, we will work in silence. You should all stick a piece of fabric in your mouth and not even grind your jaws until the mission is over. If any of you open your mouth out of turn, or even remove the rag, you will get no reward!"
The wood nymph handed each of the pirates a strip of fabric, which they humbly squeezed between their teeth, then started down to the dinghies, sitting on the benches and grabbing the oars. I'd ordered the oar hooks greased with fat from the kitchen so the oars would be practically silent as well. I was at the head of the first dinghy, and Valerianna Quickfoot was at the bow of the second. I decided not to wake Max Sochnier without good reason — our Naiad Trader was tired after the endless day, and I figured I could do this without him.
The sea was stormy, our craft was tossed and turned. It was all strongly reminiscent of riding a roller coaster at an amusement park. I thanked the heavens a number of times that my belly was empty, otherwise the contents may have evacuated.
"I see blue markers on the Tipsy Gannet in the bay. Our NPC companions are still on board. The Gray Pack and my Pirate are locked in the hold. Taisha is there as well. But Irek, Darius and Darina are not on the galley."
The absence of the wargs and goblin was very curious, but I was hoping for an answer soon. The two dinghies entered the bay cautiously and went directly over to the anchored galley. Here in the harbor, the sea was much calmer, now lacking the powerful foamy breakers that threatened to overturn our boat on the way to the island. But at that, the rain had grown stronger, and was now a real downpour. In such nasty weather, I didn't have to worry that we might be seen from the shore, and Valerianna saw only one lookout on the anchored galley.
With a gesture, I ordered the oarsmen to row back, as our dinghy had accelerated a bit more than I wanted. I pointed my finger at the three nearest orc sailors, then at the oars lowered into the water and a hole high in the side of the galley.
"To the upper deck! Take out the lookout!" I mouthed, giving an order. And they all understood.
Soundless shadows, three figures crawled up the oars, reached the oar-deck, then pulled themselves up and hid from view. A few seconds later, I heard a muted cry, a strike and a splash of water. One enemy sailor down.
Experience received: 54 Exp.
"Tim, let's try to avoid unnecessary killing. Half of the crew is on shore right now blowing off steam in a tavern. The rest are mostly sleeping. And they're probably unarmed — after all, the captain locks up the armor and weapons in the arsenal, remember?"
Hey, that was right! As my sister had correctly noted, most of the
sailors on Tipsy Gannet didn't carry weapons, they were handed them only before a battle. I turned to the pirates awaiting my order and gave the command to tie our boat to an oar and for everyone to climb onto the upper deck, and not to lower down yet into the inner spaces of the galley. I then also climbed up.
Successful Agility check
Experience received: 20 Exp.
I reached the hole in the side of the oar deck and carefully careened my neck to look inside. Despite the storm and rain outside, the oarsmen shackled to their oars were sleeping soundly. Probably, the gray-haired skipper had worked them half to death today, trying to race away from the pirates following them, then trying to leave as fast as possible from the island where they'd left the undying they'd betrayed. I already wanted to jump into the ship and crawl across the dirty oar deck, but I was stopped by a sudden message:
Stealth Skill increased to level 19!
One of the slaves or crew members wasn't sleeping, after all, and might have seen me! Not wanting to take a risk, I followed my orcs onto the upper deck. I took a look around, made sure there were no enemies and, at the same time, took a tally of my soldiers. All fourteen were still there, and one group had thrown a rope ladder down to help the wood nymph climb up. The stairs, leading directly into the hold, were crisscrossed with nailed-in boards.
"Troll, over here! Remove the boards, but be quiet, no sound!"
The huge, three-meter-high shaggy troll had elongated arms that practically reached the floor. He ran up nimbly to the obstacle and quickly removed the boards blocking the passage.
"Four stay here on guard, four to the other stairs, but no one go down! Another three to the port side as lookouts. If you see a boat coming in from the village, tell me, but be quiet! Troll and a couple of the strongest orcs, here's the locked door to the arsenal. Open it, but don't make too much noise. There are weapons and armor there. Take some for yourself and give the rest out based on preference and size. I repeat, no one go down, everyone await my signal!"
"Val, order Pirate to lie calmly and sit in silence! I really do not want him to start whining or howling in joy. I commanded the same to the Gray Pack. And find me the captain. Where is he?"
My sister began thinking for a few seconds, then shook her head:
"He's not here. He's probably on shore."
Resetting my Night Vision skill in any case, I threw open the hatch, immediately noting how deeply scratched up it was from the inside. After that, I started down into the dark hold.
The level-29 Akella was lying at the bottom of the stairs and wagging his tail in joy just like a dog, greeting my arrival. The forest predator's life bar was in the orange for some reason. Then again, so were the life bars of all the other members of the Gray Pack I could see. The aftermath of a squabble? Hunger? As it turned out, no. The wolves were suffering badly of thirst. Out of all the food available to them in the hold, they found only a great number of bags of salted fish, and had downed a few of them.
Soon, I saw Taisha. The goblin beauty was sleeping in a secluded corner of the hold, having fashioned herself a bedroll out of the bags that used to contain fish, and squeezing one dagger in each hand, her form-fitting clothing emphasizing alluring curves. Also, the thin fabric of her thief's costume was ripped in a few places, allowing me to see details normally hidden by her clothing. But it wasn't the most appropriate moment for gawking — at any second, any of the crew members could come on deck and see the orcs and raise the alarm. So, I carefully tapped Taisha on the shoulder and immediately jumped aside as the shuddering girl, half awake, tried to jab my Amra with a dagger. And she actually hit, nearly sending my goblin to respawn in one strike!
Dodge check failed
Successful Agility check
Experience received: 40 Exp.
Damage taken: 234 (270 Dagger strike — 36 armor)
3 second Bleeding effect
What about the programmed-in rule against harming one's master?! I grew alarmed for a second due to the unexpected turn of events, and that delay nearly cost me my life, as the bleeding was reducing my health by six points every second. Fortunately, I had plenty of level-15 Elixirs of Healing. In fact, I'd even put them into my quick-actions icons at the bottom of the screen. I had to drink two at once to be sure I wouldn’t kick the bucket.
Three steps from me was Taisha, spinning in place, and flailing her weapon about, blindly looking around and shouting in fear: "Stay away!" Realizing too late that the goblin beauty did not have night vision, I hissed at my panicking friend so her shriek wouldn't wake up the whole crew of the Tipsy Gannet.
"Amra!" she exclaimed, the daggers instantly falling from her hands. The girl ran to my voice and nearly knocked me off my feet, hanging from my shoulders. "I just kept remembering your directive to not go anywhere from the hold and wait for you! And I believed you'd come, even though the captain tried to convince me otherwise! He tried to get me to leave and give him the daggers all day, promising to leave me on the shore if I did. But before that, he tried taking them by force, and the Gray Pack intervened. You wouldn’t believe the fight we had in the hold! Teeth, claws, fists and daggers, everything was flying! The captain and his gang just barely made it back to the stairs. And by the way, during the day, I pulled this out of the skipper's pocket when he came into the hold."
Taisha extended me a rolled piece of parchment tied with a thin ribbon.
Insufficient Intelligence to identify object
Intelligence needed: 80
But even without that, I could guess what I had in my hands — a teleportation scroll to a safe port, the one the skipper had been bragging to me about, and about which I'd later told Taisha.
"I put the bales of fish against the far door leading into the crew's living quarters so the captain and his bandits couldn't make it in from the back. And the skipper ordered the exit from the stairwell boarded up so I wouldn't run away. Since then, I've been sitting here under siege. No water, no light, no way out. But over all these worries, my sea-sickness retreated unnoticed. I'm not nauseated anymore!"
I carefully placed the girl on the floor and ordered her to go upstairs, but first get her clothes in order — the beautiful NPC didn't want to provoke the orcs with her frivolous outfit. Taisha, in the diffuse light penetrating unevenly from the stairwell, looked herself over and gasped in fear, immediately covering her perforated clothing with her hands. The goblin beauty did have a needle and thread (the old Umar Bonesetter in Stonetown had let Taisha keep them), so the girl immediately got to work. I, then, went deeper into the hold and started pulling down the bag barricade Taisha had made.
The door, once freed of the heap, was not locked. I walked in and found myself in a semi-dark room, carpeted with a layer of fresh-smelling hay. The sailors slept right on the floor. I counted twelve bodies. Another was lying separately on a wide bench. It was a big half-orc — the main overseer of the oar-slaves.
Well then, let's get started! I walked past the snoring and sniffling bodies, rewarding each sailor with a Vampire Bite. I didn't kill them, instead choosing the option "Deep Six-Hour Sleep." But when it came to the overseer, I couldn't resist — I was expecting good experience from the level-47 NPC, and I didn't have a half-orc in my "vampiric collection" yet, so the temptation was too great. I mean, I could level not only Taste Tester but also Taste for Blood.
Experience received: 3760 Exp.
Racial ability improved: Taste for Blood (Gives +1% to all damage dealt for each unique creature killed with Vampire Bite. Current bonus: 21%)
Achievement unlocked: Taste tester (31/1000)
For trophies, I was left with the Overseer's Whip, which had the unusual bonus of restoring 3% of maximum health and 5% endurance with every strike. It was a ghastly, terrible thing — the overseer himself would always remain healthy and full of strength, leeching life force from the slaves under his care.
The quest to capture the ship was not yet considered finished — clearly, to complete it, I would have to render
the rest of the crew harmless. I opened the door and called the pirates, ordering them to tie up all the stunned sailors tight. The muscular orcs, who'd already managed to open the arsenal and equip themselves with decent weapons and armor, on seeing the dozen bodies lying passed out, stroked their heads thoughtfully and looked at my puny goblin with noticeably increased respect. At that moment, I was called out to by Valerianna Quickfoot:
"Amra, a ship started off in our direction from the village. There are eleven people in it, including the captain of Tipsy Gannet. They’re taking a somewhat strange path here, though. It's as if their dinghy is going in circles. Clearly, they've been carousing on shore."
I asked if our other NPC companions, who we'd yet to locate, were on the ship: Irek, Darius and Darina, but my sister shook her head.
"Then we'll have to interrogate the skipper, but first take him alive. What do you think: will he turn his boat back to shore when he sees the bogeymen greeting him on Tipsy Gannet?"
"I understand, big-ears. I'll make a quality illusion of human sailors, but only the three to meet them — I don't yet have the abilities for more. The other orcs should hide and jump out once they're on deck."
My sister did a great job, turning the troll and two of the strongest orcs, who I selected to meet the boat, into two of the bound sailors. All the same, our preparations were in vain — both the skipper and the sailors who’d come with him were drunk as hogs, and couldn't stay on their feet. In that condition, they could barely tell an orc pirate from an elven princess. I ordered the sailors tied up and thrown in the hold. But the captain, despite his clouded mind, I was planning to have a very serious talk with. I ordered him given a few slaps to bring him to his senses, and commanded:
Stay on the Wing Page 14
